Saving Snow
by Outlaw Royal
Summary: When the worst happens on an "easy" quest in the Enchanted Forest, Regina has to find away to keep Snow alive and get home. [Future Fic] [OQ] [Snowing]


Aw man I'm so nervous about posting this. I wrote it a week ago and been obsessively checking it over and over again. I had wrote this fic as a sort of parallel to Snow helping Regina back in season 2. Snow and Regina have just been digging in my head lately and I enjoy those two a lot, so I thought I'd give this fic a go. Hope you guys like.

* * *

The cold is a shock that sends her head spinning. Or was _she_ spinning? She decides it's both as she fights the urge to take a gasping breath. She grits her teeth, one free arm shoots out to stop the thrashing about. She's a _Queen _Goddamn it. She's not going to roll in the deep like some _idiot_.

_Up._

She winces, pain in her shoulder and blood suddenly is a taste in her mouth. She can't tell if it's her blood or someone else's.

_Snow._

Her other arm, the one clutching hard at the young woman clinging to her back, tightens it's grip on reflex. She'd never admit it,_ at least not **yet**_, but she doesn't want the girl swept away. _She doesn't want her to die_.

_UP._

Memories sweep back into her mind. She and Snow had gone out to check on a village, but they were shocked to find it _gone_. Purged in a way she hadn't seen since...

_Since she had been the **E****vil** Queen_.

The thought makes her ill, but she ignores it. She remembers they found a camp full of hostile men. It wouldn't have been a problem, but Snow had gotten caught trying to free some prisoners. She hadn't known until she saw Snow wasn't where she was supposed to be. Flash forward she found herself freeing Snow, but ultimately having to _run_ like her _mother_ was chasing her. They ended up having to jump into this ravine. A last ditch maneuver. How _humiliating_.

Her lungs strain and she knows she has to hurry. She'll drown, they both will. That thought is rendered null as she breaches the water, gasping for air. She glances around, the water powerful and pulling her down the river fast.

She looks ahead and sees an outcropping in the rock wall. A cave?

_**Move**, or the river will take you away from it._

A breath passes her lips, almost a grunt, as she moves her arm and legs as best she can. She's suddenly very glad she wore proper riding clothes for this trip. She _barely_ manages to catch her hand on the rocky ledge. Seeing no other choice she uses both arms to tug her and Snow up, hoping the girl has enough strength to hold on.

Ripping pain shoots from her shoulder, but she ignores it as she struggles for purchase. Her feet scramble against the submerged stone and she _finally_ gets herself up enough to clamber into the rocky opening. She breathes roughly, weight on her back forcing her to remain on her hands and knees.

_Snow_.

She shifts her weight, inadvertently dropping Snow to her back on the floor. The jolt causes Snow to cough up water, gasping for air.

"Re-" she gurgles out in confused panic "Regina?"

Regina reaches out to her, checking her over. The wound on Snow's side is a bloody mess, even after being in the water. Snow moves to get up and Regina has to stop her with both hands to keep her still.

"It's alright. We're safe for now."

Snow grabs for Regina's arms, something to hold onto. Snow whimpers out something, a complaint of pain.

"I'll take care of it, calm down. You'll hurt yourself more."

Another whimper. It sounded like it was in acceptance though, which is good. Regina releases her grasp on Snow, Snow's hands not releasing their grip until Regina pulls too far away for them to reach. Having nothing to hold, Snow's hands fall limply to the ground, to weak to do anything else. Did Snow just pass out? … Oh shit, she_ did_. Regina sighs and carefully pulls Snow away from the ledge. Good enough she decides after she's pulled her a few feet away.

It took only a few minutes of looking around to find this indent was man made. It was an old camp, as the way down from the ground above was severely eroded. Someone had a death wish to make hand holds down into a ravine anyways, much less make a hidey hole. She hated this realm because it could be such _bullshit_ sometimes. Or rather the _people_ in it were bullshit.

Luckily the last person who had stayed here looks as if he never came back, well lucky for her and Snow anyways. They had stashed their tent, bedding and supplies behind a rock which hid a hole in the wall. Again, she _really_ hated this realm sometimes._ A literal hole in the wall, are you **serious**?_

Pulling out the mass of fabric and supplies was no easy task. She wasn't _use_ to this damn it. She kept looking over and checking Snow. Still breathing. Good. At that flood of relief, she furrows her brow as she roughly tugs the old tent. _Irony was such a bitch wasn't it?_

Deciding she was woefully ill equipped to handle setting up these things in a timely manner, she moves to get a few scraps of cloth from the old blankets and try to fix Snow's wound. Finding what she needs she goes to Snow's side. The girl is breathing harshly, obviously in pain. Regina pulls and rips the clothes surrounding the wound.

_Oh gods._

It was ghastly, the wound was jagged and cut into Snow's side harshly. How much blood did she lose? Suddenly she was glad she used the last bits of magic she had. She had teleported them and healed Snow's side before running... and going for a swim. Seeing Snow's side so bad was worrisome. She _had_ healed it some, she _knows_ she did. So how much worse could her side have been?

She shakes her head, to clear the thoughts of what ifs and to calm the illness settling in her stomach. Moving to treat the wound, she stops. It's terribly cold in here. _… Shit._

* * *

"_We sure this is going to work?"Charming asks, his hands busying themselves with a knickknack sitting nearby._

"_Yes," Regina hisses, as she snatches the trinket from David. "Didn't anyone teach you touching things in a room dedicated to magic is **stupid**?"_

_Charming offers an apologetic smile. "I guess you did just now?"_

_Rolling her eyes, Emma watches her father shrug at Regina's glare and her low mumbled insult at his intelligence. _

"_What do **we **have to do?" _

_Placing the trinket back, Regina turns to Emma, who seems slightly nervous. _

"_Relax, this is nothing." Regina says off offhandedly, "you'll just be an added bump to the spell. I'll be the primary caster." _

_Emma shifts, handling her nerves a bit better then her father._

"_See, putting things like that makes me nervous. Makes it sound like we're rocket scientists." _

_Making a tsk sound, Regina takes a few things from the shelves._

"_More like **I'm **the scientist and **you're** a helper monkey."_

_Somewhere behind her Charming snorts, but Emma can't tell if it's in amusement or not._

"_Wow, **thanks**." _

_Regina smirks at the sarcasm coming off Emma's voice. Just as Regina finishes putting all the things in a bag she hears footsteps coming down the stairs._

"_How's it going?" Snow's voice chimes._

"_It's going well," Regina replies. "Apparently I'm a helper monkey." Emma adds, her tone holding good humor at least._

_Robin, who descended the stairs right behind Snow, gives Emma a wry smirk._

"_Better then a flying one, yes?"_

_Emma makes a face and Regina chuckles lowly. Snow allows a smirk, before turning to Regina._

"_Have you got everything?"_

_Latching the satchel, Regina turns to nod at Snow. Robin falls in beside Regina, fiddling with something he brought in a leather pouch._

"_I do." _

_Folding her arms, Emma glances over at Charming, who seems to be handling another one of Regina's things. Hopefully that thing isn't dangerous? She shakes her head and turns to her mother and Regina._

"_So, you guys really think a portal to the Enchanted Forest is a good idea?" _

_The silence... isn't reassuring. Emma frowns, especially after catching the look Regina gives her mother. One her mother returns. What is that about?_

"_It's important we get back, after what Belle found..." Charming speaks up. "We have to be sure."_

_At Regina's glare, Charming puts down the other trinket he had been messing with. Snow huffs and goes over to him, taking his hands and then finally turning back to Emma._

"_This isn't something that's easy, but it could help everyone in the long run." Snow assures Emma, "if we could establish a permanent portal? It could change **everything**."_

_The room goes quiet again._

"_And if the portal messes up?" Emma demands, "or if it doesn't work and you are trapped there? What then?"_

_The quiet that had been in the room turns oppressive with the weight of Emma's words. Everyone knows these are valid questions, its clear on their faces._

"_I've been over the spell for this hundreds of times," Regina supplies. "Gold checked it, then Belle, then Blue, then Tink and then me again. I wouldn't do this if I wasn't **sure** this spell was able to get us there."_

_She wouldn't do that to Henry, she hadn't said it, but it was implied. Emma sighs and nods, "so me and Hook stay here with the kids and you four-" _

"_Five." Snow buts in, "Granny is coming with us." _

_Blinking in mild shock, Emma looks confused, but she shrugs it off. _

"_**Sure**, take the werewolf over the helper monkey. I get it."_

* * *

Regina grumbles as she finishes dressing herself, casting a glance at her riding clothes. Lucky there was some spares in here and that whoever stayed here shared this place with a woman. The large, obviously a man's clothes, suited Snow. Well suited Snow for Regina's convenience, looser the clothes Snow wore, the easier the access for helping her. That and Regina wasn't about to deal with clothes _that _loose. Though she'd had to change back into her clothes soon, the dress she was forced to use would make it hard to climb out of here.

Anyways, now to deal with setting up that tent and making somewhere comfortable for them both... or at least for Snow.

It only takes about fifteen minutes for her to feel like a fumbling _idiot_. In her defense, setting up a seemingly specially made tent, wasn't something she had _ever_ had to do. Even the few times her father had taken her into the forest for a camping trip, while _mother_ was away, she had her head in the clouds as she explored and ignored his explanations of such a thing. Good thing Henry wasn't as stu-

Wait. She jumps up and rushes to her clothes and belt. 'Where is it' she wonders as she rummages through a few pockets. Ah there it is. She brushes away some dirt from a small book.

A survival guide. Henry had given it to her when she and the others had to come back here. _Just in case_. She fights back some tears as she opens it. It's a bit water warped, but it was made out of tougher stuff it seems as it held together well.

* * *

"_Mom."_

_She turns to him, he seems sad that he can't go. But it was agreed he'd stay behind since it could be dangerous this first time and so he could help Red take care of baby Neal and Roland._

"_Yes, Henry?"_

_He hugs her, and pulls back. He was so tall now and oh gods she may cry._

"_I got you something." He pulls a small book from his jacket, "just in case."_

_She takes it and glances at it, a smile forming. _

"_I know," he blurts out, "it's a little silly since you can use magic... but..." _

_She looks at him wishing for him to continue._

"_I just want you to be safe. You never know, right?"_

_She smiles wider and pulls him into a hug. _

"_It's very thoughtful of you. Thank you, Henry."_

_He hugs her back and then releases her as she pulls away to give him a kiss on his forehead. _

* * *

She sighs as dusts off her hands, finally that damnable tent was set up. It_ was_ specially made, but she figured it out after looking into the info the book provided about tents in general. The pre-made holes dug into the stone made for nice support at least.

After taking the time to pull in all the cloth and blankets into the tent, she finally decides to pull Snow inside of it. Walking over to the still unconscious Snow, she carefully drags her into the tent. Once getting Snow inside and onto the bed... like area Regina allows herself to unceremoniously drop onto the ground. Just to sit. Just for a little while.

The rushing water outside was the only sound to go with her and Snow's breathing. She leans back resting her weight on an elbow as she listens for a moment. It would have been annoying had it been in another situation. She would have complained _so_ much, but knowing she was still breathing that _Snow_ was still breathing... it was oddly calming. Without realizing she falls asleep, her body asking for just a moment to rest.

* * *

"_What are you talking about?" Regina inquires, confused._

_Snow is pacing, worried, as she handles some parchment in her hands. Looking it over again and again. Regina marches up to her then, taking it from her, pulling Snow into a halt._

"_Answer me," she growls._

_Sheepishly Snow clears her throat as she looks out of the castle window nearby._

"_Sorry... it's these people." She gestures to the papers now in Regina's hand, "they wrote us so much. I fear for them." _

_Glancing through the papers, it's hard to tell how long time had passed since they were delivered._

"_Snow..." Regina begins, her voice hesitant. "These letters could be... very old."_

_At the sight Snow's crestfallen face, Regina frowns. _

"_It's also possible they got help from another kingdom or town," she offers. "Just because the last letter ends abruptly... it could mean anything." _

_Snow sighs._

"_I need to make sure, don't I owe them that?" Snow implores, causing Regina's frown to deepen. "Don't we owe them that?"_

_Regina's hand traces the paper, as she thinks. A duke was coming soon, but Regina hated dealing with the man. He was an annoying and stupid, a chauvinistic alcoholic... perhaps Charming wouldn't mind dealing with him alone? Robin would be here to back him up and honestly, the idea of going with Snow to a village on horseback... seemed nice. It had been awhile since she had a chance to ride a horse. Snow was also right, they- no **she** had a lot to make up for. _

"_... Yes. I suppose we do."_

* * *

Groaning she moves to get up, she does, her body isn't happy, but she does. She hadn't meant to fall asleep, but at least the chill of the air helped wake her. She knows she needs to start a fire, they'd be in trouble if it got too much colder. She found a bunch of old wood, when she was pulling out supplies. The wood was probably once attached to things like crude shovels, axes and whatnot. There were also a few logs set aside on the far side of the... cave? Room? Whatever, there was wood.

It takes a few minutes to set it up, but she does. She debates on not lighting it, but decides what they had would at least keep the fire going till morning. At least it seems the person who had been here last had been here during winter, judging by the amount of thick blankets she had found. So she and Snow shouldn't freeze should the fire go out during the night. Her hand goes to rub at her shoulder, but she hisses when it makes contact.

She had taken an arrow as she fled with Snow. Right as she teleported. It occurs to her that the arrow that wounded her was coated in some sort of oil, she had noticed when she ripped it out of her shoulder in a rush. Perhaps that's why Snow's wound didn't totally heal, maybe the sword that had slashed her had something like that oil on it? Maybe it stunted magical healing for the wounds dealt? Made magic harder to use?

Grumbling to herself, she knows using magic would be a horrible idea. They were able to track it, they had to be. It was the only way they could have found her and Snow after they had teleported away, because she had tried to heal Snow. They had found them so _fast __to find them__, __but how could they do such a thing?_ She barely had time to help Snow get up, onto her back and run. Upon that thought, she heads back to the tent and sits beside Snow. The girl is still sleeping, but still obviously in a bit of pain. Watching Snow, she rests her arms on her knees and sighs.

She feels useless. Her magic is exhausted, her skills in the _great _outdoors is dismal at best. If only she had paid attention to the warning signs. Maybe they should have brought someone... and now her mind drifts to Robin. Her stomach drops to the floor as she thinks of him. Gods, she should have let him come.

* * *

_Regina goes around her room, collecting what she may need. She had already dressed into a suitable outfit for the long ride ahead of her. A sudden thought comes to her and she heads for her wardrobe to pull out a belt with a good number of pouches attached to it. Granny had suggested it when she heard about Snow and Regina's trip. It was a good idea she had to admit, it'd let her be able to take some potion materials **just in case**. She sighs sadly, remembering saying goodbye to Henry._

"_Something troubling you, milady?"_

_His voice snaps her out of her reverie as she turns suddenly to face him. Robin. He stands there a warm smile on his face as he lingers by the door. She gives him a small smile in return._

"_Just missing Henry," she admits as she goes to put on the belt._

_The belt gives her some problems as she puts it on, **no**, it's more like **he** is giving her a problem by just being there. A jolt goes through her as his hands suddenly brush over hers and takes the belt, fastening it securely to her waist. They're painfully close, closer then what would be needed. She reigns herself in and looks up at him, trying to ignore the fact that her hands still rest on his wrists and his hands are still holding her by the belt. _

"_I assume you have a reason for coming to see me?"_

_He smirks at her then and she resists the sudden urge to make it go away, but she knows that would just make things harder for her._

"_I want to go with you." _

_Odd, he usually isn't so forward. Her brow furrows as she wonders why he'd want to go with her on such a simple quest. She notes he's holding back too when he looks over her confused expression. At least she's not the only one left wanting._

"_I've heard some murmurings," he tells her to abate her confusion. "People who were there have cut all ties. There hasn't been any contact to or from that village."_

_Wonderful, she thinks as she pulls away from him. She goes over to her dresser and takes a few things out._

"_So, in all likelihood, **Snow and I** will be visiting a graveyard."_

_Noting the frustrated tone in her voice, Robin moves by her side, watching her gather herbs from a hidden drawer in her desk. He assumes them to be rare, why bother hiding them otherwise? Choosing to ignore the implication of what she had just said, he continues with what he was inferring before._

"_As you know," he begins tentatively, "when towns are abandoned they attract looters."_

_She spares him a glance, an eyebrow raised, knowing where he was heading with his choice of words. She had hoped he would drop it, but that's obviously not going to happen. So stubborn._

"_Robin, I can handle myself. So can Snow."_

_Her words don't move him, so she continues to pretend to need something in her dresser. She can feel him getting frustrated, it's coming off him in waves. _

"_I know you can. That's isn't why-" she turns to him abruptly, cutting him off, and scowls at him. "Then spit it out, Robin. I have to leave soon."_

_Things have been so charged between them, and that's why she has to take a step back from him now. Since Marian came back, things got twisted up. They aren't different, their feelings aren't and maybe that's why she's been taking steps back from him since that day? Maybe she just can't **stand** herself?_

"_I want to go with you because I want to be with you, not because of some idea you need protecting."_

_Another step back to his step forward, it's like a dance. He's never **hated **dancing until now. Neither has she._

"_I can't do this," she mutters._

_They stare at each other then, for longer then most would. He thinks about going to her, grabbing her and not letting go. She thinks about dropping her pride and running out of the room like a child. Neither gives in to their thoughts._

"_I have to go," she finally says._

_He nods and watches her head for the door._

"_I'll wait for you."_

_She stops in her tracks then, thinking about turning back. She doesn't._

"_You shouldn't."_

* * *

_Hope ya guys liked it, it'll continue. Lemme know what you all think!_


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